wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “without password”
wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →
For “without password”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.
wp.org search ranks on
Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.
We add
A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Password Protect – Temporary Login Without Password & Password Protect Entire Site shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549)
wp.org #1 2 
Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142)
wp.org #2 3 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 4 
PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271)
wp.org #4 5 
Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #14 8 too low 7 
Magic Login – Magic Link & Passwordless Authentication for WordPress – Login Without Password 3K+ · 4.8★ (26)
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #19 ↑3 11 too low 9 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #21 ↑2 12 too low 10 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #17 ↑2 7 too low 11 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199)
wp.org #22 ↓1 10 too low 13 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #16 3 too low 14 
Password Policy Manager 6K+ · 4.4★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #7 7 too high 15 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓3 8 too low 16 
WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #9 7 too high 17 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓2 7 too high 18 
PDF Ink Lite – Free PDF Watermark & Password Protection 2K+ · 4.6★ (51)
wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19 U Use Administrator Password 800+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #12 7 too high 20 
MASS Users Password Reset 500+ · 4.0★ (14) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Password Protect – Temporary Login Without Password & Password Protect Entire Site 100+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑2 13 too high 22 N No Weak Passwords 400+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Simple Password Protect 500+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #11 12 too high 24 
PDF Password Protect 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 9 too high Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.